Rep. Brian Stewart: Time to get aggressive on economy

Tuesday

Jan 7, 2014 at 3:10 PMJan 7, 2014 at 3:10 PM

Welcome to 2014 and a host of New Year's resolutions that most of us make at the beginning of the year but by the end of the year realize we need to start over again. Amongst the most popular tends to be lose weight, live a healthier lifestyle, quit smoking, save money and, of course my favorite, take a vacation. For those of you that know me well, you are probably laughing at the last one.

I usually enjoy what I do and believe most of the time that every day is a Friday, a phrase I use often. I am humbled at the opportunity to serve you in the General Assembly and am looking forward to this year in doing my part to make Northwest Illinois a better place to live, work, raise your family and retire. We are blessed with many capable civic, government and business leaders in our region.

However, we need to get aggressive and motivated if we expect our communities to continue to grow. The economic playing field in our country is very competitive as are our high school sports teams. Northwest Illinois is known throughout the state for having championship teams in many sports, including the recent 2013 Class 1A State Football Champions Lena-Winslow. We also need to be known as being a champion for working together and growing our economy. This is not always the case. I am not implying we do not have the resources. We in fact do. I would put our agriculture and agri-business community up against anybody, anywhere. Our tourism, history and the beauty of our area are some of the best in the country and I am proud to have been born here. Our manufacturing and service companies are doing well. The workforce ethics of our rural communities and the belief of an honest day's pay for an honest day's work is still alive and well, most of the time.

Our economy needs to grow and we need to put people back to work. As I have said before we need more people working and paying taxes, not more taxes for those that are paying too much. We need to reduce government handouts as most people need a hand up not a hand out. We also need to make sure our cities, villages, counties and state government are working together to make us more business friendly, not driving business somewhere else.

I also encourage all citizens to take action and stand up for our area. Instead of complaining, get involved and make a difference. Before criticizing, become educated of the real situation. In the words of Winston Churchill, remember that "attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

As I have mentioned in my last two columns, there are hundreds of new laws that became effective on Jan. 1. A complete list can be found at www.ilhousegop.org. Please take note and share them with family, friends and co-workers.

Brian Stewart is the 89th District state representative. You can reach him or Sally at 815-232-0774 or email them at repstewart@gmail.com. You can also visit his website at repbrianstewart.com or on Facebook.